Bring me back
by ElloDoctor
Summary: It was then that Annie realised that she was taking care of him just as much as Finnick was taking care of her.   The story of District 4's reaping for the 75th Hunger Games.Oneshot  Review! Review! Review!


**A/N Okay so this is my first HG fic and I'm really worried as Annie is not really a featured character in the book so there wasn't much characterisation to go on so I wrote her like I imagined her. I'm sorry if it's really weird, it sounded better in my head than on paper I think. I love Finnick/Annie and that was really the main reason for writing it, I just had to give it a go!**

**My tumblr= ifeelslightlyconfused  
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**Please review, it would mean a lot :)**

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><p>Day of the reaping, the 75th hunger games, District 4<p>

The sun was scalding on Annie's skin as she watched the metal stage be set up in the town centre, a flurry of people all rushing about, not noticing her sitting quietly to the side on a wooden bench. The past victors were supposed to assemble there in 10 minutes, meaning Annie was early. It was important for the victors to be there earlier than regular citizens for the reaping she knew but Annie hadn't given much thought to the reaping that day, it was much too hot.

She stared at the fabric of her green dress, humming idly to herself. Her dress was simple, a knee high design that cinched at the waist with a collared neckline, all in a dark, sea green fabric, the same colour of the water that shone in the distance. Annie watched as schools of fishes swam in her dress, tiny spherical bubbles following in their wake. Her mouth widened in a smile as several dolphins cleaved gracefully through the green of her dress, parting the cluster of what looked like krill, congregating in the middle of her skirt. She stroked the fabric carefully and giggled softly to herself as one of the fish, a larger one nipped at her finger.  
>She heard the soft thud of footsteps on pavement behind her, her heart thudding as she felt the presence of someone much bigger than her. Annie turned her head nervously. Finnick.<br>He stood there, wearing black trousers and a shirt that matched her dress and a smile so tender it melted Annie's heart a bit.  
>She smiled at him, instantly relaxing and patted the seat next to her, he took it and her hand.<br>"What are you doing?" His voice was gentle, obviously noticing how jumpy she was before.  
>"Watching my dress," She fluttered her hands gesturing to the garment, careful to keep her eyes on Finnick's face.<br>"Oh?" he smiled, tilting his head to the side, his eyes sparkling.  
>"There are..." She watched his eyes carefully, tensing just a little bit. "There are fish, swimming in my dress, like the ocean," She needn't have worried.<br>Finnick grinned at her and brushed a lock of brown hair out of her eyes. "Like our beach?" He asked.  
>She nodded and leaned into him, her head falling on his shoulder.<br>"Are you coming on to me, Annie Cresta?"Annie poked his arm that was now around her shoulder.  
>"In your dreams Finnick Odair" She felt him chuckle rather than heard him, her mind was far away, back at the little beach behind Finnick's house.<br>He had taken her there, dozens and dozens of times after her games and even though she had been silent and unresponsive, he had taken care of her. They had sat together on the pale white sand for hours, watching the ocean glitter in the sun, even though Annie had been entrenched in her head and she had barely even registered he was there. When Annie had finally been able to look at him without retreating into the safety of her mind, they had skipped stones together, creating little ripples in the otherwise still, green ocean. And finally when she'd began to talk to him, to let him in, they had sat around for hours, talking in whispers as if they were worried someone would hear them. Annie had let him inside her head, told him, shyly, hesitantly how it felt when she had come back from the games, how alone she thought she'd been and in return, he told her about his time in the Capitol, how he'd been used and sold, how he'd learnt all these horrible secrets and never had anyone to tell because nobody understood. It was then that Annie realised that she was taking care of him just as much as Finnick was taking care of her.

"Annie?" Annie heard her name through the haze of memories and she realised she was trying to move up from the bench with Finnick's arms still around her.  
>"Sorry Finnick," She mumbled, sitting back down and nestling in to Finnick.<br>"Hey it's okay," He was smiling at her, the kind of smile he only ever gave to her. "What were you thinking about?"  
>"Oh, our beach," Annie felt his arms go tighter around her and he hummed against her neck. "Finnick, could we go there today, after the reap-" Annie felt her body tense and for the first time that day she let herself think about the danger ahead. What if one of them was chosen, what if-<br>"Of course we can Annie," Finnick said, rubbing her back soothingly.  
>Annie felt herself relax; if Finnick wasn't worried then she wouldn't be either.<br>At that moment, a loud clanging bell ring, signalling for the past victors to assemble in the areas given to them.  
>"That's our cue," Finnick stood up, pulling Annie up with him. She smoothed her dress with her hands and looked tried to ignore the almost smothering heat. She began to make her way towards the stage when Finnick's hand grabbed hers.<br>"Don't I get a goodbye kiss? Or are you trying to get rid of me?" He grinned rakishly at her.  
>Giggling, she placed her hands in his. "Never," and pressed her lips to his.<br>Annie felt Finnick smile into the kiss and mused on the softness of Finnick's hands as they stroked her face. It was nice.  
>"We'll go to our beach after okay Annie?" he murmured, dropping his hands.<br>Annie smiled absent-mindedly and nodded and made her way to the roped-off area for the female victors. She stood there with the two other women, Old Mags and Emily, a woman who had won her games, 23 years ago by capturing her opponents and then drowning them in a lake. Annie liked Mags but Emily always made her feel uneasy, Annie shivered despite the heat. She smiled at them, trying hard not to look at either of them and settled into her hard plastic chair. After a minute or two of awkward silence, Annie went back to watching the ocean in her dress. The fish were still there, swimming lazily and Annie sat there for a few minutes watching them, making her wish the reaping was over so she and Finnick could visit their special place. At the thought of Finnick, Annie looked up from her dress and sought him out from the small group of men 20 feet away. At that moment, the centre was slowly filling with people and a bunch of teenage girls were purposefully striding towards where Finnick was sitting until they were stopped by a peacekeeper who told them, rather snottily to move to their area and not to dawdle. Annie watched them, feeling detached as they called out to Finnick, their voices high and girly.  
>"Finn! Finn! Good luck! We love you!"<br>Sharp bursts of jealousy ran through her, as Annie looked towards Finnick, _her _Finnick. He threw an embarrassed grin at them before turning to Annie. He pressed his lips together when he saw her watching him, hiding a smile before winking at her. She giggled and instantly felt better, there were four other men besides Finnick, he had good chances. She looked back down at her dress, watching it for a little while trying to ignore the growing noise around her. While watching the green folds, her eyes crinkled in confusion, the fish were all scattering and disappearing from sight and Annie gazed at the hem at the bottom of her dress and saw the tiny outline of a sharks fin before it disappeared. Wrenching her eyes away from her dress, she looked towards the stage, her palms going sweaty as she tried desperately to turn her thoughts to Finnick and their beach. But the little voice inside her head wouldn't be silent as much as Annie tried to stop it, even putting her hands over her ears didn't stop her from hearing it.  
>"But what if he's chosen? What if you're chosen Annie Cresta? What then?"<br>Annie hadn't realised that she had whimpered until she felt Mags reach out and take her hands from her ears and place them in her lap. Annie looked towards the stage, feeling herself become more and more worried. A woman was talking into a microphone, just finishing up the telling of the games. Annie tuned out again, trying to supress the memories of her own games, also trying to not think about the reaping and trying, trying so hard to think of-  
>"Finnick Odair!"<br>There was no air, only dust in Annie's throat. Finnick walked up the stairs looking down at his feet, while the crowd yelled, clapped and whistled, the noise deafening. Annie felt as if the world had tilted and she began to breathe, deep shuddering breaths as tears fell down her cheeks, onto her sea green dress leaving blotches. Annie was suddenly back in the games watching droplets of blood fall on soft moss, blood that would soon be Finnick's. Loud, gasping noises began to rip themselves from her throat as Finnick took centre stage, still not looking at her.  
>"Annie Cresta!" Annie blinked, her eyes widening, her whole body stilling. But before her brain could even understand what was going on, Annie watched Mag's hobble up to volunteer and Finnick finally looked at her because she was screaming, piercing howls of anguish spilling from her lips and Annie didn't know how to stop them, wasn't aware of anything other than that Finnick was being taken away from her.<br>Finnick stared deeply into her eyes and for a second Annie was silent as she watched him take three of his fingers and kiss them, holding them towards her as if to press them against her own lips. It's their signal and it means; _I love you, you're safe, I'm here _and all Annie could do was start screaming again because no, he's not here, he's up there about to be taken away to die and she isn't going to be there for him. Annie felt herself falling into the depths of her mind, losing herself in her shrieks and tears and this time Finnick isn't there to bring her back to reality.

_I love you, you're safe, I'm here _


End file.
